A Very Merry Merlin Christmas in Camelot
by ksdene
Summary: Merlin starts off angry at Arthur for making him work on Christmas, but then receives the gift he's been wanting since he arrived in Camelot.  Reveal fic.  Some minimal spoilers, takes place in Season 4.


**Ok, so Christmas is almost over here, but I was inspired so I wrote this. It's like 11:30 pm here... It's a very merry Merlin Christmas in Camelot, and Merlin gets the gift he's been wanting for years.**

**I don't own Merlin. Or Christmas. Just the idea.  
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><p>"MERLIN!" Arthur shouts. "YOU'RE LATE!"<p>

"Sorry sire." Merlin sighs, annoyed. There are many things that Merlin can tolerate, but this was crossing the line on so many levels. His mother walked all the way from Ealdor to Camelot to be here for Christmas and where was Merlin? Working. There was snow on the ground and he was out in it. The only place Merlin wanted to be was with his mother and with Gaius, and Arthur just couldn't understand it. He tosses Arthur an envelope.

"What's this?"

"It's your Christmas present. Sorry, it's not much." Merlin rolls his eyes. Arthur opens it. He pulls out a piece of paper with an intricately drawn dragon on it.

"Did- Did you draw this?" Arthur asks, surprised.

"No, Gwaine did last time he was drunk, of course I drew it!" He says a little angrily. Arthur stares at him.

"Well then, let's get going shall we?"

"Where are we going exactly?"

"To retrieve the um… sword… of… fýrdraca." Arthur remembers hearing his father saying that word somewhere. He figured it had something to do with magic, and as far as he knew, there really could be a sword of fýrdraca some where. Merlin rolls his eyes.

"The sword of fire-spewing dragon? Does that even exist?" Merlin asks, convinced that this was just another way to torture him.

"Yes it does, and it's a very powerful tool of magic." This gets Merlin's attention. "Wait how did you know what fýrdraca means?" Merlin looks down.

"Must have been something I heard Gaius talking about." He mumbles. Arthur sighs. Gwen and the knights better hurry, or it is going to be a long day.

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><p>"Oi, Gwen, where do you want these wreaths hung up?" Elyan yells over at his sister, who is directing Gwaine on how to properly arrange flowers.<p>

"Over on the doors will be good. Percival, goodness, did you carry that in here all by yourself?" Gwen looks over to see Percival dragging a massive Christmas tree into the throne room. Percival nods. "Set it up in the corner. Hunith, Gaius do you have the tree decorations?" They also nod, smiling. "Alright, I think we're close to ready." She looks at Gwaine's sad attempt at flower arranging. "Gwaine, why don't you go and find Arthur and Merlin and bring them back here?" She takes over sending him on his way.

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><p>"RUN!" Arthur shouts, running out of the cave.<p>

"I told you that Gia berries wouldn't work for everything!" Merlin yells shortly after him.

"Shut up Merlin!"

"Why on earth would the sword be in there?"

"I don't know!"

"You know what I think! I think you don't know where this ridiculous sword is! I bet that it doesn't even exist! This is probably just one of your plans to annoy me, when you know that all I wanted to do today is celebrate Christmas with my family, which isn't wrong thank you very much. Just one day was all I needed! One day with my mother and uncle, was that too much to ask? No, but what do you have me doing all day instead? Traipsing around the forest looking for a sword that _doesn't exist_! Just once could you be a little bit less of prat? You know, we were going to invite you and Gwen to come and celebrate with us? I'm so sick of you being an arrogant, idiotic prat! Just once, can some magical quest not fall on our shoulders?" At this point he's just rambling to the sky. "Just once can I have a day to celebrate with my family, and not have to worry about my destiny? ARGGGHHHHH!" He screams at the top of his lungs at a tree. Arthur just stares at Merlin who is now banging his head into the tree.

"Merlin?"

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Merlin shouts.

"Merlin?"

"Sword! There is no sword! If we find a sword I'm Uther Pendragon!" Merlin is now laughing hysterically. Arthur slaps him.

"Merlin!"

"Sorry, I lost it there for a second."

"Arthur! Merlin! There you are!" Gwaine yells.

"Gwaine! It's about time!" Arthur shouts.

"What?" Merlin is clearly confused.

"Don't worry Merlin." Arthur says with a suspicious looking grin on his face.

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><p>"Merry Christmas!" Merlin looks dumbfounded at the group of people in front of him in a decorated throne room.<p>

"That's what we were doing while you and Arthur were looking for…"

"The sword of fýrdraca." Merlin laughs.

"You should have heard Merlin ranting. He was about to go insane!" Arthur and Gwaine are practically rolling on the floor while Merlin blushes crimson.

"But- Why?"

"You do so much for all of us Merlin. Plus Christmas parties are fun!" Gwen laughs as she hands him a small parcel.

"A dagger?" Merlin asks confused.

"It's from Elyan and I. We thought you could use something to protect yourself with when you go with the knights on those dangerous missions." She says smiling.

"This one's from me and Gwaine." Percival hands Merlin a pad of parchment and pens with colored ink.

"We noticed some of your drawings last time we were looking for you in your room." Gwaine adds.

"Thank you, I didn't think that anyone noticed." Oh these are all for you. He hands Gwen a picture of her and Arthur together. Elyan receives a picture of a castle. Percival has a picture of a sword. Gwaine's picture depicts him defeat a wildoren. Gaius' picture show him sitting over his work bench, while Hunith's shows a beautifully detailed picture of their home village of Ealdor.

"Wow Merlin, I never knew that you had such an artistic side." Gwen says, adoring her picture.

"Well then, _Merlin._ I believe that I have a present for you. It's something Gaius thinks you need and want desperately." Merlin gives Gaius a curious look as Arthur hands him something that looks and feels like a book wrapped in what appears to be what will soon become a new neckerchief. His eyes go wide as he unwraps and opens it.

"This is…" He trails off, absorbed in the book. He falls into a heap on the floor, looking as if he's trying to absorb every word at once. Gaius laughs at Merlin's predictability. Hunith smiles at her son's love of knowledge. Arthur has a look of dread that could only mean that he's sure he won't be seeing his servant for days if Gaius can't tear the book away from him. Gwen speaks up.

"What is it?"

"It's a book of magic." Merlin whispers excitedly before going pale realizing what he just said, how he reacted, and who gave him the book. Confusion wipes over Gwaine Elyan, and Gwen's faces, while Percival looks as if he's just realized something very important.

"But why would Merlin want and need a book of magic?" Elyan begins.

"You. You're Emrys aren't you Merlin?" Percival whispers. The others look at him. "What? I grew up around magic and druids. I've had a feeling that Arthur is the Once and Future King for a long time now, but I didn't know who Emrys was."

"He's talking about the prophecy."

"Prophecy?"

"Rawww. We're talking about my destiny again! Can I just explain those parts tomorrow and just make the basics clear? It's Christmas." Merlin looks slightly hysterical.

"Fine," Gwaine nods. "Basics."

"There are four basic things you need to know, the rest I'll explain tomorrow. Number One: Yes, I have magic, but I'm a warlock, not a sorcerer. A warlock is someone who is born with magic, and can control it instinctually. Sorcerers are generally much weaker than warlocks because it takes years to learn magic. But warlocks are very, very, rare. Number 2: I have never, _ever_, intentionally harmed someone with my magic. Except for the following people: Nimueh, Morgause, that Sidh girl Sophia and her father, Morgana, Mary Collins, Morgana's immortal army, the bandits that attacked Ealdor, many, many bandits that have attacked us, Jarl, the slave trader's men, King Cenrid's Army,"

"Merlin, I think they get the point, can we move on?" Arthur asks, slightly annoyed and impressed.

"Oh, um right. Number three: I'm a Dragonlord. I'll explain tomorrow. Number four: Yes, as Percival said, my Druidic name is Emrys. Don't ask questions about it. Once again I'll explain tomorrow. Is everyone happy?" They look at him, kind of clueless. Merlin's mother looks like she's about to cry, she knows that if Merlin's a Dragonlord that means Balinor is dead, but she holds it together.

"This is a lot to take in."

"Are you going to have me executed?" He says fearfully.

"What? No, of course not. I just expect you to get your chores done faster now that we know you have magic. And of course a full explanation tomorrow." Arthur smiles as Merlin breaths a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Arthur. You've given me a present that's better than any magic book."

"Your life."

"What? No, trust me Arthur, you couldn't take my life if you tried, which, by the way please don't try, it's not fun trying to escape from Camelot. What I was talking about was your acceptance. You don't even know how worried I was about the day you found out about me. Which reminds me, when did you find out."

"Last week. You left your other book out on a table in Gaius' chambers." Merlin groans at his own stupidity. Arthur laughs. "Merry Christmas Merlin."

"Merry Christmas Arthur, and all of you. I couldn't have asked for more." He says smiling.

Happy Holidays

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><p><strong>Yeah, I've always imagined Merlin as the artistic type, and the fact that Gwaine was arranging flowers just made me crack up as I was writing it! I love writing Merlin rants too. I hope you're all having a great holiday season! If I get writers block on my other story, The Coming of Emrys, I might write a little sequel to this, more serious, where he explains everything in more detail. I just turned on the TV and Merlin is on Syfy! :D Alright. I'm done. Now.<br>**


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